Quote:   Quote:   The Maverick Tubemagic D1 arrived today!! Just had a listening session for >1hr and compared with my old sources.   I had my doubts as well but this thing meets and exceeds all my expectations. The bass is a lot more powerful and tight now and everything...

thanks for recommending it, I'm sure it will be a performer

because they look proper   but I ordered the maverick D1s

I just figured that it might be better to go with Grant Fidelity version of this since shipping is free (probably faster too since they're N.A. based), saves 20 bucks   The faceplate definitely is different. Other than that, I don't observe any differences

what is the difference between this product and Grant Fidelity's ? http://grantfidelity.com/site/Grant_Fidelity_Tube_DAC-09    

^^^ none taken. I'm really hoping the new amp/DAC will make it the triport killer

ha, just read that even a headphone amp needs burn-in. Why is that ? I understand that headphones need the diaphragms to loosen or something like that but an amp?

@sokolov91 I wasnt looking into MKVs but the MKIIIs but thanks   Quote: Yeah I read about that on amazon as well. My headphones are very new yes, it will be a while to reach 100 hrs ... I'm not going to force burning it in by leaving it connected and playing music etc   I've tried...

  Right now, I am leaning towards the Maverick D1's since its a hybrid (with tubes) dac/amp   the starving student is just an amp and I never tried any electronic DIYs so might screw it up   the little dot Mk3's are not even sold anymore   No point on buying it on a weekend since...

starving student, sounds like it fits my demographic It also looks great with visible tubes Its 180 for the assembled version but where would i go to for DIY guide?   Other one that looks good is the maverick audio tubemagic as suggested by thewuss   and also, Little Dot MK III...

  thanks for the suggestions   ok new max budget is ~250   This is going to be stationary, space is not an issue.   I'm also looking for those amps with the  tubes sticking out (visible) ... or is that too much for my budget? I've heard that tube amps need maintenance??      

  Man you guys were right about this thing, it really needs an amp Its sounding like the drivers are not performing optimally because of the lack of power from my zune or on-board soundcard the high pitched sounds are painful and bass is weak .. starting to miss my old Bose triports  ...

^^^ Yeah I've noticed static when i turn up my volume really loud on my on-board sound cards with the bose. I'm guessing the ground loop isolator is a feature aimed to reduce static? I game, mostly console though. It would be nice to have a soundcard to process audio (instead of the CPU) but...

Quote: Originally Posted by waterlogic Look for 24bit 88200 Hz or 24bit 96000 Hz (hdtracks.com) or higher (Linnrecords.com). Ah... but I'd need a 24 bit soundcard first (using onboard right now) I have the first generation PS3s which can apparently play SACDs Dont have...

I've heard SACD is one of the best formats out there for sound Wanted to try it out but can't find any sample rips. Would they be in the 100MB range per song and in .flac containers?